Sen. Susan Collins is a Republican a co-sponsor of the legislation. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Sen. Susan Collins is a Republican a co-sponsor of the legislation. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Photo: Alex Wong, Wire Photos

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Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Photo by Allison Shelley/Getty Images

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Photo by Allison Shelley/Getty Images

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Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Photo: Tom Williams, Wire Photos

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U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA) Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA) Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Photo: Alex Wong, Wire Photos

GI sex abuse has powerful foes

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As Congress boiled with anger in March over the reinstatement of an Air Force pilot convicted of sexual assault, a small group of women filed through a loud and bustling hallway in the Capitol and gathered in the quiet reserve of the President's Room.

In a corner of the cavernous room adorned with historic frescoes, Kimberly Hanks, the victim in the court-martial case, sat on a red leather couch next to a wingback chair occupied by Sen. Barbara Boxer, their knees almost touching.

Hanks, still publicly unnamed, was unsure about coming forward into the glare of the scandal, but she had agreed to a series of confidential meetings with women serving in the Senate as it prepared to hold its first hearing on sexual assault in the military in nearly a decade.

The 49-year old physician assistant told Boxer about her ordeal, how she had endured months of painful legal proceedings only to see the jury's verdict thrown out by a general who'd once flown with the accused pilot.

The bitter irony, she told Boxer, was that she had decided to press charges partly to prove to a younger generation that victims can win justice in the military system.

Boxer, D-Calif., who already was convinced that power over sex-assault cases must be removed from the insular chain of command, sensed the importance of Hanks' story and the political momentum it was to inspire.

Boxer reached over to Hanks and clasped her hands.

“This is a tipping point,” Boxer told her.

The meeting reflected a passionate and more aggressive approach by a record number of 98 women in Congress and 20 on the powerful armed services committees who are leading the fight against an epidemic of sexual assault in the military.

The shift comes after more than two decades of complaints about a male-dominant culture of indifference toward sexual violence in the military and resistance to structural reforms.

The growing cadre of women lawmakers in Washington is among a confluence of factors that are bringing new attention to the issue and propelling bipartisan support for far-reaching measures.

A Pentagon study released in May estimated the number of victims last year surged from 19,000 to 26,000. It also showed only about 11 percent of sexual assaults were reported to military authorities.

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Of the 2,900 offense suspects, a mere 302 faced courts-martial. And only about half of all convicted perpetrators were automatically expelled from services.

The report came amid a string of controversial cases in which military officials responsible for sexual-assault prevention programs were accused of indecent conduct. And it further sparked demand for reforms raised during the ongoing scandal at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where 33 instructors have been investigated for sexual misconduct with more than 60 trainees.

The case involving Hanks, who testified that an F-16 pilot at Aviano Air Base in Italy sexually assaulted her as she slept in a guest bed at his house, demonstrated the unfettered power of commanders to overturn jury verdicts and decrease sentences.

Although the pilot, Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, had failed a polygraph test, his commander, Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin, later explained in a memo that he doubted Hanks' credibility because she had declined a ride home earlier in the evening and was unable to describe Wilkerson's facial hair.

When the case came to light, Boxer and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, R-N.H., called on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to personally review the case.

Boxer now is a co-sponsor on the Military Justice Improvement Act, filed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., that would prohibit commanders from overturning verdicts.

It would also remove commanders from the process of deciding whether sexual-assault cases and other serious crimes should progress to court-martial and hand that control to military prosecutors.

“I'm proud that the women of the Senate have helped shine a spotlight on military sexual assault,” Boxer said. “We won't rest until we end this epidemic once and for all.”

'Cancer in culture'

The measure isn't the first to propose taking control of sex-assault cases from commanders. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., has revived legislation she initially offered in 2011 that would put investigation and prosecution of sex crimes under the authority of an independent oversight office.

“There is a cancer in the culture that needs to be cut out and it's going to take a very concerted effort to do it,” Speier said. “I'm convinced that culture doesn't change, behavior doesn't change until there are consequences.”

In recent years, Speier has been one of the most outspoken lawmakers on the issue.

Two years ago, she began reading graphic accounts from military rape survivors on the House floor to spur attention to the problem.

She has taken a deeply personal approach to understanding the difficulties that victims face after reporting assault and routinely invites survivors to participate in conference calls for legislative updates.

Speier herself became a victim of violence early in her career as an aide to California Rep. Leo Ryan.

She was among a delegation that accompanied Ryan on a trip to Guyana in 1978 to investigate constituent reports of the infamous cult led by Rev. Jim Jones. As Ryan's group attempted to return to the U.S. with members of the sect who were desperate to escape, they were gunned down on the airport tarmac by Jones' henchmen. Ryan died and Speier suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the attack, which set off mass suicides at the camp that day.

“Her deep connection with the survivor community is really something to witness,” said Nancy Parrish, president of the victim advocacy group Protect Our Defenders, who arranged the private meetings between Hanks and lawmakers.

Most recently, Speier has paid a personal price for her advocacy. On May 7, Speier sent a letter to Hagel complaining about a Facebook page popular among Marines that posted jokes about rape and lewd images of female soldiers.

The site portrayed servicewomen as underperformers who win promotion with sexual favors, their greatest value as “sandwich makers.”

Although Facebook took down the page, multiple reincarnations of it have reappeared under the title “F*** You Jackie Speier” and another page that was active on Wednesday called “Jackie Struggle Snuggle Speier.”

Among other demeaning images of women posted on those pages was an altered picture of Speier with one eye blackened. The red-lettered caption read: “She burned the bacon only once.”

On Tuesday, USA Today reported that federal authorities are investigating several Marines for social media posts against Speier.

Flurry of bills

Efforts to revamp the military justice system are part of a flurry of broader measures to stem assaults and better protect victims. A bill offered by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., would prevent sex offenders from joining the military. She also has proposed a bill with Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., that would create standards for military officials responsible for sexual-assault prevention programs.

Some lawmakers are careful to point out that the epidemic of sexual assault in the military, in which an estimated 54 percent of troops victimized last year were men, is not a uniquely women's issue. Nor are women exclusively leading the charge.

“This is a human issue,” said Rep. Niki Tsongas, D- Mass., who introduced a bill with Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, that requires convicted sex offenders to be expelled from the services.

“We read over and over again that the commanders do not take these charges seriously,” Tsongas said. “There's often an inherent conflict because they're dealing with both the assailant and survivor at the same time, so they tend to minimize the significance of these crimes.”

Tsongas was newly elected in October 2007 when a report on the number of sexual assaults captured her interest.

Shortly after that, at a luncheon for wounded warriors, Tsongas asked a group of servicewomen if sex crimes are as pervasive as the numbers suggest. One of the women, a nurse in her 40s, revealed that she carries a knife in her waistband every day because, as she told Tsongas: “I'm more afraid of these soldiers than I am of the enemy.”

“We by no means have the majority of Congress on our side at this point,” Parrish said. “But today there is more positive traction than before. If the president, Congress and military leadership really intend to effectively address this problem, there is no viable alternative to removing authority from the chain of command.”